Delivery mechanism



N. DE MANNA 2,172,364

DELIVERY MECHANISM Filed Feb. l2, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 12, 1939.

Sept. 12, 1939. N. DE MANNA DELIVERY MECHANISM Filed Feb. l2, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Patented Sept. 1'2, 1939 ATENT FFCE .DELIVERY MEcHANisM Nicholas De Manna, Brooklyn, N. Y., assigner to R. Hoe & Go., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application February 12, 1937, Serial No. 125,490

13 Claims.

This invention relates to delivery mechanism and more particularly to improved delivery mechanism for use with folders of modern high speed rotary printing machines.

In modern rotary printing machines and particularly printing machines of the newspaper type, there is a progressively increasing demand for higher operating speeds, and, as the operating speeds increase, diiiiculty is experienced in providing suitable stop mechanism for delivering the products in even or uniform spaced relation on the conventional delivery belts or conveyor. It is the present practice to deliver the products from the folding mechanism into pockets or flys of a rotating fan, and then each product is conveyed partly around the fan at fan speed until its leading edge engages a stationary stop member or stripping blade which interrupts the travel of the product around the fan and strips the product from lthe fan and deposits it on a travelling conveyor. Usually these conveyors travel in a direction opposed to the direction of movement of the delivery portion of the fan, although there has been provided mechanism for delivering the products with their folding edge leading,

Such mechanism lbeing shown in British Patent No. 334,622. In the modern high speed delivery mechanism, when a product engages the stationary stop or stripping member the product is moving at such a high rate of speed or velocity as to cause the product to rebound, and, inasmuch as this rebound is not uniform, the papers are deposited in ragged or non-uniform positions onto the delivery belts or conveyor.

Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide a delivery mechanism for folders of high speed rotary printing machines in which the products are delivered to the fan and conveyed partly therearound at fan speed, and then the Speed of each product is reduced to a speed less than fan speed prior to the engagement of the product with the product stripping member or stop.

Another object of this invention is to provide a delivery mechanism for a folder of a high speed rotary printing machine in which the products are delivered from the folder into the fan at a speed in excess of fan speed, and each product is conveyed partly around the fan at fan speed and then the speed of each product is reduced to a speed less than fan speed, and finally stopped and stripped from the fan and deposited on a delivery conveyor.

A further object of this invention is to provide a delivery for folders of high speed printing machines in which the products are delivered from the folder at a speed in excess of fan speed with their folded edges `leading and deposited in product-receiving pockets carried by a delivery fan, the fan being arranged to convey each product partly around the fan, the delivery also including means for engaging each product during its travel around the fan to thereby positively reduce the speed of each product to a speed less than ian speed, and a stripper or stop mechanism for stopping Veach product and cooperating with components of the fan for depositing the products in uniform spaced relation on Vthe delivery conveyor.

A more specific object of this invention is to i provide a delivery for folders of high speed rotary printing machines, the delivery including a rotary fan having a plurality of product-receiving pockets arranged in substantially tangential relation therearound, each pocket receiving a product from the folder and conveying the product partly around the fan at fan speed, a rotary mechanism operably positioned in concentric relation to the fan and arranged to engage each product during its travel around the fan to thereby reduce the speed of each product to a speed less than fan speed, and a stop or stripper mechanism for stripping the products from the fan and depositing them in uniform spaced relation on the delivery conveyor.

It is also an object of this invention to provide for folders of high speed printing machines a delivery mechanism of generally improved construction, whereby the device will be simple, durable and inexpensive in construction, as well as convenient, practicable, serviceable and eicient in its use.

With the foregoing and other objects in View. which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts, and in the details of construction hereinaiter described and claimed, it being understood that various changes in form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any advantages of the invention.

For a complete disclosure of the invention, a detailed description of my improved delivery mechanism will now be given in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmental side elevation showing my improved delivery mechanism as applied to a folder for printing machines;

Figure 2 is an enlarged detailed elevation of the delivery fan and cooperating mechanism for reducing the speed of travel of the products in the fan; and

Figure 3 is an elevational View of my improved delivery fan and cooperating mechanism, the view looking in the direction of arrow 3 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawingsin which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts, I0 indicates, in dotted lines, a frame for operably supporting the components of the conventional high' speed printing machine folder and also an improved delivery mechanism. A folding cylinder I I of usual construction is rotatably supported by a shaft I2 suitably supported by bearings I3 provided in the frame Iii, and a cooperating cutting cylinder I5 is rotatably supported on a shaft I6 which is mounted for rotation in bearings I1 provided in the frame I0. Conventional folding-off rollers I8 are rotatably mounted on stub shafts 20 carried by the yokes 2I which are supported by brackets 22 suitably secured to the machine frame I0. The usual product piercing and conveying pins 23 are provided and they pierce the leading edge of the web W to convey the web around the cylinder, and after the web W has been severed by the usual cutting knife 25, carried by the cutting cylinder I5, it is tucked by the usual folding blade 26 between the folding-off rollers I8 so that the product is folded and fed to the delivery mechanism to be hereinafter disclosed. This folding and cutting mechanism may be of conventional design and is not a feature of the invention apart from the improved delivery mechanism to be presently disclosed, therefore the folding and cutting mechanism is merely diagrammatically illustrated, inasmuch as the construction Vand operation of such mechanism are well understood by those skilled in the art.

A delivery fan is provided and it includes a plurality of spaced polygonal discs 21 having fan blades 28 suitably secured to the tangential peripheral surfaces 30 thereof. The outer portion 3I of each blade 28 is curved and lies in substantially parallel relation to the tangential peripheral surfaces 30 of the discs 21 to thereby define tangentially-disposed product-receiving pockets 32 which are open at one terminal and are provided With closed bottom portions 33 defined by the portion of the'blade'28 which engages the pocket forming peripheral surface 30 of the disc 21. In the present illustration, there are eight product-receiving pockets 32 shown, but it is to be understood that any preferred number of pockets may be provided without departing from the spirit of this invention. Five fan discs 21 are here illustrated, although it is to be understood that any preferred number of these discs may be provided within the scope of this invention, and the three intermediate discs 21 are separated by spacing discs or cylindrical sections 34, and the outermost discs 21 are spaced from the three intermediate discs, as shown in Figure 3, for reasons to be hereinafter disclosed. The discs 21 and 34 are keyed or otherwise rigidly secured to a shaft 35, as indicated at 31, so that all the discs 21 operate in unison to provide a composite delivery fan. The shaft 35 is mounted for rotation in bearing lugs or brackets 36 extending from the machine frame, as best shown in Figure 1, and this shaft may be driven from any suitable component of the folding mechanism to operate in synchronism with the folder in conformity with the usual practice which is well understood by those skilled in the art, therefore, the driving mechanism of the shaft 35 is not here illustrated.

Spaced arms or brackets 38 are suitably secured to and supported by a shaft 33 which extends across the machine, and the shaft, in turn, is rigidly supported by the machine frame I9. The arms 38 terminate in bearing heads 40 which are positioned inside the outermost disc 21 and in eccentric relation to the fan supporting shaft 35. Antifriction bearings 4I are suitably supported in the bearing heads 48, and each set of bearings 4I rotatably supports a stub shaft 42 extending fromra ratchet shaped disc i3 having radial product-engaging surfaces 45, the function of which will be hereinafter disclosed. A sprocket 43 is secured to the shaft 42 of each ratchet disc 43, and similar sprockets 41 are keyed or otherwise rigidly secured to the shaft 35. The sprockets 46 and 41 are preferably of the same size, and a chain, belt or other iiexible driving element 48 is trained around the sprockets 46 and 41 to thereby drive the ratchet discs 43 at the same angular speed as the shaft 35 and the composite fan.

As will be more fully explained hereinafter, the composite fan is constructed and arranged to receive products in its pockets 32 from the folding-off rollers I8, and, in order to guide the products from these rollers to the pockets, there are provided fixed guide members 5i! preferably arranged in spaced side byside relation and disposed tangentially with relation to the fan, so that these guides 53 aline with each pocket 32 when these pockets are in product-receiving position. To prevent the tail end of the product from flying outwardly away from the fan, there are provided a number of spaced guard or guide members 5I preferably arranged in spaced side by side relation and shaped to be concentrically disposed relative to the fan and its supporting shaft 35.

In conformity with the usual practice, a kicker or counting mechanism is provided for displacing a count sheet or product to Yindicate the ij.'

number of products being delivered, as will be hereinafter more fully disclosed, and the kicker mechanism includes a cam disc 52, shown in Figure l, having a cam projection 53,Y and the disc 52 is secured to a shaft 55 which is suitably supported for rotation by bearings 56 formed in the machine frame. A worm gear 51 is rigidly secured to the shaft 55 and meshes with a worin 5S which is carried by a shaft 60 driven from any suitable component of the folding mechanism, in conformity with the usual practice, therefore the drive mechanism is not here illustrated. There is provided a shaft 6I mounted for rocking motion in bearing lugs or brackets 32 extending from the machine frame I0, and an arm 33 isI rigidly secured to the shaft 3l to rock therewith. rihe outer terminal of the arm 33 has a roller 65 rotatably secured thereto and arranged to cooperatewith the cam projection 53 to impart rocking motion to the shaft 6I. An i.-shaped arm is also rigidly secured to the shaft 5i and supports a product-interrupting finger 61 which is positioned and shaped to be moved into the path of travel of the products around the fan, as will be hereinafter disclosed.

Conveyor belts, chains, or other exible elements 88, 18 and 1I are operably supported by pulleys 12, 13, and 15 suitably mounted fo-r Yrotation on supporting shafts 14 positioned below the delivery fan. The delivery conveyor 68 is arranged so that its terminal defined by the pulley 12 may be raised and lowered by adjusting the adjusting screw 'i6 to thus adjustably position the upper reach of the conveyor relative to the delivery fan, and the belts or flexible elements 58 may be maintained in taut condition by means of the tension roller 'Il which is carried by a pivoted arm 18, the adjustment of the arm being made in any preferred manner not illustrated but well understood by those skilled in the art.

In order to drive the conveyor belts or exible elements, spaced shafts 8i) and 8l are rotatably supported by the machine frame, and the shaft 86 has a sprocket 82 keyed or otherwise rigidly secured thereto, and meshing gears 83 and 85 are arranged to rotate with the shaft 8B and 8l. A chain 88 is trained around the sprocket 82 and a sprocket 81 secured to the shaft 55, so that rotation of the cam shaft 55 will irnpart rotary motion to the shaft 80, which, in turn, drives the shaft 3! through the interposed meshing gears 83 and 85. In order to drive the conveyor belts or elements 68, 'It and ll, the gear 85 meshes with a pinion 88 carried by the shaftl 'I4 which supports the pulley 15 to thereby drive these pulleys, which, in turn, impart motion to the conveyor belts or elements I0 and 7l, and the belts 'a' rotate the pulleys 73 thereby imparting motion to the conveyor belts or element 68.

In order to stop and strip the products from the product-receiving pockets 32 of the fan, there are provided L-Shaped stop membersr 92, shown in Figures 1 and 2, which members are adjustably secured to the arms 38 by means of screws or bolts 93 which extend through slots 95 formed in an arm of each L-shaped stop member 92, and these screws are screwed into the arms 38 to rigidly secure each stop in selected adjusted position. Each stop is provided with a projecting stop finger or stripping blade 96 which is disposed substantially radial to the fan and positioned in the same horizontal plane as the product-receiving pockets 32 of the fan, so that the stripping blades or stops Se may strip the products from the pockets as will be hereinafter disclosed.

In operation, each product is cut from the web W by the cutting knife and tucked between the folding-off rollers i8 by the folding blade 2%, and then the product is conveyed along the guides 5i! into a product-receiving pocket 32 of the composite fan. Each product is preferably delivered from the folding-olf rollers I8 at a speed in excess of fan speed, so that as the product is fed into the fan pocket its speed is initially checked by the leading and folded edge of the product engaging the bottom 33 o-f the fan pocket 32, and the product is then conveyed partly around the fan at fan speed. Inasmuch as the ratchet discs i3 are driven at the same angular speed as the fan, and since these discs are preferably one-half the size of the fan, it is manifest that the radially-disposed product-engaging surfaces 45 of the disc 43 are travelling at substantially one-half the peripheral speed of the product-receiving pockets of the fan, it being understood that when the term fan speed is employed, it means the speed of travel of the product-receiving pockets of the fan. Each product-engaging disc 43 is arranged so that one of its radial surfaces 45 will engage the leading edge of a product at a point intermediate the product-receiving position of the fan and the product discharge position of the fan. As each product travels around the fan, its leading edge engages a slower moving radial surface 45 of the product-engaging disc 43 to thereby slow down the speed of the product to substantially half the fan speed. 'Ihe product continues around the fan at this reduced speed until it engages the stop or stripping blade 96 which entirely arrests the motion of the product, and the continued movement of the fan causes the outer surface of its blade which next engages the product to force the tail end of the product downwardly onto the delivery belt. As the pocket-defining portion 3| of the blade moves from the product, the entireproduct is deposited on the belt in predetermined spaced relation to the previous product, so that all the products are arranged in uniform spaced relation on the travelling belt 68 with their folding edges leading. From this point the conveyor belts or elements 68, Hl or 'il convey the products from the fan towards its ultimate destination.

As the cam disc 52 continues to rotate, its cam projection 53 engages the roller 65 to move the interrupting or count finger 61 in position to interrupt the travel of the next approaching product, so that this product is offset with relation to the remaining products thereby definitely indicating to the operator that a predetermined number of products are positioned between this offset sheet and the previous offset product.

As the art to which this invention pertains developed, engineers gained valuable knowledge to determine the proper operating relationship between the folding mechanism and the delivery fan so that each product could be delivered into its product-receiving pocket of the fan without mutilating the product or causing a choke in the folder. Therefore, by this arrangement the products are received from the folding-off rollers into the fan pockets 32 in conformity with the usual practice. The bottom 33 of each fan pocket engages the leading folded edge of its product to initially reduce the speed of travel of the product to fan speed. After the product has been conveyed for a short distance around the fan at fan speed its leading folded edge is again engaged by one of the product-engaging surfaces 45 of each ratchet disc 43 thereby again reducing the speed of the product to the speed of the slower moving ratchet disc and finally the product is stopped by the stop or stripping blade 96 and stripped from the fan. Thus it is seen that the product is received by the fan in the usual Way and then positively slowed down while in the fan, thereby insuring complete control of the product throughout its travel around the delivery fan.

Although in the present disclosure the product-engaging portions of the ratchet disc are arranged to travel at approximately one-half the fan speed, it is to be understood, of course, that any preferred speed below fan speed may be imparted to the product-engaging portions 45 of the cam disc within the scope of this invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful is:

l. The method of delivering products from a folder through a delivery fan to a delivery conveyor, which consists in feeding each product from the folder into the fan, positively reducing the speed of each product while in the fan to a speed less than fan speed, stopping each product while in the fan, and then dropping it onto the delivery conveyor.

2. The method of delivering products from a folder through a delivery fan to a delivery conveyor, which consists in feeding each product from the Yfolder into the fan with the folded edge of the product leading, positively reducing the speed of each product While in the fan to a speed less than fan speed, stopping each product by engaging its leading folded edge While in the fan, and dropping it onto a conveyor travelling in the same direction as the fan with the folded edge of the product leading.

3. A delivery mechanism for a folder including in combination a rotary fan for receiving folded products from the folder, and means operable Vin timed relation to the fan for positively reducing the speed of each product while in the fan to a speed less than fan speed prior to delivering the product from the fan.

4. A delivery mechanism for a folder including in combination 'a rotary fan, means for forwarding folded products from the folder into the fan with the folded edge of each product leading, means for engaging the leading edge of each product and positively reducing the speed of the product to a speed less than fan speed while in the fan, a delivery conveyor travelling in the same direction as the delivery portion of the fan, and means for stopping and depositing each product on the delivery conveyor with its folded edge leading.

5. A delivery mechanism for a folder including in combination a rotary fan having productreceiving pockets, mans for feeding each product from the folder into a pocket of the fan, means operable in timed relation with the fan for enl gaging each product while in its pocket to positively reduce the speed of the product to a speed less than fan speed, and means for stopping the product wlfL'le'in the fan and to discharge the product from the fan.

6. A delivery mechanism for a folder including in combinationV a rotary fan having productreceiving pockets, means for feeding each product from the folder at a speed greater than fan speed into a pocket, the pocket engaging the leading edge of the product to reduce the speed of the product to fan speed, and means 'operable inVV timed relation with the fan for engaging the leading edge of each product While in its pocket to positively reduce the speed of the product to a speed less than fan speed prior to discharging the product from the fan.

7. A delivery mechanism Yfor a folder including in combination a rotary fan having productreceiving pockets, means for feeding each producty from the folder into a pocket at a speed greater than fan speed with the folded edge leading, the pocket engaging the leading folded edge of the product to positively reduce the speed of the product to fan speed, a rotary member operable in timed relation with the fan for engaging the leading edge of each product while in its pocket-to positively reduce the speed of the product to a speed less than fan speed, a delivery conveyor operably positioned below the fan and running in the same direction asl the delivery portion of the fan, and a stop member for checking the speed of the product while in the fan and to cooperate with the components of the fan to uniformly deposit the products onto the conveyor with the folded edges of the products leading.

V8. A delivery mechanism for a folder including in combination a rotary fan having productreceiving pockets and each pocket having side and bottom portions, folding rollers for feeding each product from the folder with the folded edge leading into a fan pocket at a speed greater than fan speed, the bottom of the pocket engaging the leading edge of the product to positively reduce the speed of the product to fan speed, a rotary member operable in timed relation with the fan for engaging the leading edge of each product While in its pocket to positively reduce the speed of the product to a speed less than fan speed, a delivery conveyor operably positioned below the fan and running in the same direction as the delivery portion of the fan, and a stop member for checking the speed of the products while in the fan and to cooperate with components of the fan to uniformly deposit the products onto the conveyor with the folded edges of the products leading.

9. A delivery mechanism for a folder including in combination a` rotary fan having product-receiving pockets to receive folded products from the folder, rotary discs mounted eccentrically relative to the rotary fan and having productengaging surfaces positioned to engage the products in the fan pockets to reduce the speed of the products to less than fan speed, and stationary stop members for stopping the products while in the fan and for stripping the products from the fan.

l0. A delivery mechanism for a folder including in combination a rotary fan having productreceiving pockets, means for forwarding folded products from the folder into the pockets with their folded edges leading, rotary members mounted eccentrically relative to the rotary fan and having radially extending product-engaging portions to engage the leading edge of the products in the pockets to reduce their speed to less than fan speed, a conveyor running in the same direction as the direction of rotation of the lower portion of the fan, and stop members positioned to engage the products in the pockets after their engagement by therotary members to stop the products and to cooperate with components of the fan to deliver the products from the;

pockets in the lower portion of the fan onto the conveyor with their folded edges leading.

1l. A delivery mechanism for a folder including in combination a rotary fan having productreceiving pockets to receive products from` the folder, rotary members mounted eccentrically relative to the fan and having product-engaging surfaces positioned to engage the products in the pockets to reduce the speed of the products to less than fan speed, means for operably connecting the fan and the said rotary members to drive them in unison, and stationary stop members positioned to engage the products in the pockets after their speed has been reduced by the said rotary member to stop the Vvproducts and for cooperating with components of the fan to discharge the products from the fan.

12. A delivery mechanism for a folder including in combination a rotary fan having pockets to receive folded products from the folder, means for forwarding the products from the folder into the fan pockets, rotary members smaller than the fan mounted eccentrically with relation to the fan and within the periphery of the fan, radiallyextending product-engaging portions formed on the rotary members and positioned to engage the products in the pockets to reduce the speed of the products to less than fan speed, means for operably connecting the fan and the said rotary members to drive the fan and rotary members at the same angular speed, and adjustable stop members positioned to engage the products in the pockets after their speed has been reduced by the said rotary members to stop the products and to cooperate with components of the fan to discharge the products from the fan pockets.

13. A delivery mechanism for a folder including in combination a rotary fan having productreceiving pockets, means for feeding the products from the folder into the fan pockets at a speed greater than fan speed with the folded edges of the products leading, the pockets engaging the leading edges of the products to reduce their speed to ian speed, rotary members mounted eccentrically With relation to the fan, means for operably connecting the fan and rotary members to drive them in unison, productengaging portions carried by the rotary members, the product-engaging portions travelling at a speed less than fan speed and positioned to engage the products in the pockets to positively reduce the speed of the products to less than fan speed, a delivery conveyor positioned below the fan and running in the same direction as the direction of rotation of the lower portion of the fan, stop members positioned to engage the products in the fan pocket to stop the products after their speed has been reduced by the rotary members and to cooperate with components of the fan for stripping the products from the fan pockets at the lower portion of the fan and delivering the products onto the conveyor with their folded edges leading.

NICHOLAS DE MANNA- 

